Social Factors and Educational Outcomes

 

Social Factors and Educational Outcomes

Author: Santosh Kumar Biswa, Sr. Teacher, Damphu CS, Tsirang, Bhutan

 

Education plays a crucial role in the wholesome development of learners. But, history reveals that there have been so many social and political factors that affect education (Whitten, 2013). Mostly, social issues comprise parental influence on how they support their children in getting an education at home concerning the educational system of that country. The education learners get depends on how parents influence their children in acquiring life skills both at home and in schools and the type of social values that learners get. On the other hand, the Education system at present time has become a source of politics that gives birth to many of the political challenges starting from funding to policy changes (Space Coast Daily, 2020). Due to the rise in debate among the different political parties, educational challenges have become vital not only for the learners but also for parents. It has drastically affected the educational outcomes. But, somehow, political influences have some advantages too in terms of the development of the educational setting.

According to me, more than anything, Social factors are the biggest factors that affect education, lowering the educational outcome. Some may argue by saying that social influence on education is not the cause of declining educational outcomes, but the reality is different in terms of social inequality in the educational setting and schooling. Eliminating the system of caste, class, gender, race, etc. is impossible to eradicate in our society and it has always questioned us about the quality that education could bring concerning its outcomes (Walters, 2001). They are the most permanent barriers in terms of access to school. Racial minorities are often victimized for equal education and such educational disadvantage brings adverse effects to the educational outcomes (Pham, 2019). The victims of racial discrimination cannot concentrate well on their studies because the policies themselves favor students from higher societies. Such things make the educational goals weak in attaining educational outcomes. According to UNESCO IIEP (2021), students usually with a low family background are ill-prepared to attend their schooling and are mostly malnourished, are also exposed to violence, anxiety, etc., and cannot come up with good performance in school.

Excelling educational outcomes is not as simple as we think when the education system has to meet the technical and social complexities that are in the queue in shaping education reforms as stated above, eradicating social issues takes decades because it has become the trend in some of the minority groups of people.

 

Reference

Pham, L. (2019). How socioeconomic background makes a difference in education outcomes. Retrieved August 2, 2021 from https://www.aare.edu.au/blog/?p=4354

Space Coast Daily. (2020). Major Political Issues Affecting Education: Four Hot Topics. Retrieved August 2, 2021 from https://spacecoastdaily.com/2020/12/major-political-issues-affecting-education-four-hot-topics/

UNESCO IIEP. (2021). Socioeconomic Inequalities and Learning. Retrieved August 2, 2021 from https://learningportal.iiep.unesco.org

Walters, P. B. (2001). Social Inequality and Schooling. Retrieved August 2, 2021 from https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/computer-science/educational-outcome

Whitten, S. (2013). Social and Political Influences on Education and Curriculum. Retrieved August 2, 2021 from https://prezi.com/x96mornt6ude/social-and-political-influences-on-education-and-curriculum/